Moving on to Creative Writing

I have finally completed my second Open University module. I sent off my final assessment of AA100 (The Arts Past and Present), having actually enjoyed writing it. Clearly I am not adverse to writing essays, or I probably wouldn't be doing a degree, but it usually gets a little stressful towards the end. I squeeze in words to reach a reasonable word count. I rake through the textbook for anything I may have missed. But this essay was truly enjoyable. Perhaps it was simply because I found the subject interesting. Glastonbury, Stonehenge, symbolism, tradition...it was all very intriguing. But I think something was just going well for me. The words seemed to flow nicely rather than being forced. Lets hope this continues onto my next course!

Speaking of which, I have just have a quick browse through the OpenLearn Unit "Writing what you know", which is an adapted extract from the course I'll be starting in September; A215 (Creative Writing). It's interesting and has some very helpful exercises for improving sensory perception, observing the world around you and using memories. I tried out a couple of them and I plan to try more in a different location, perhaps tomorrow as I walk to church or if I take a walk along the river in the afternoon. 

I feel so enthusiastic about this. I'm going to buy a new notebook to start recording anything that might be good for my writing. It might even improve my blog! 

In other news, the Little Monster, with some help, is growing cress this week. So far, there's just some cress seeds scattered over some damp cotton wool in a little dish on our living room window sill but I'm hoping there'll be something to see tomorrow. She's very excited about growing something. It really makes me long for a garden where we could grow all manner of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Not to mention that I'd love to keep some chickens!